Jisoo Stella Sim
Professor Jenifer
Sustainable System
November 9, 2104
Final Project Proposal Paper
It’s fact of life in the 21st century that we’re all very busy and overlook such
things like watering our houseplant. When I got my houseplants, I have always killed
them because I simply forget to water them. Also, when my whole family was on the
vacation, there was no one to water them and eventually the plant died. Therefore, I
designed a pottery that monitors the plants and water them when they are thirsty. People
who are on vacation or beginner for growing plants will want this smart self-water
monitors due to its innovative, decorative and functional systems.
There are many types of solutions already attempted. One of the solutions is the
‘chirp’. It is a plant watering alarm that can be stored it into the soil near a plant and it
emits a tiny chirp when the soil is dry, reminding you to water the plant. Chirp works
with capacitive humidity sensing as opposed to resistive humidity sensing. Fortunately it
does not make an electric contact with the soil, avoiding electrode corrosion and soil
electrolysis and resulting in better accuracy and longer battery life.1 The interesting part
is that Chirp will be silent when it’s dark and will restrict itself from making too much
noise. Also, the alarm level can be set for each plant individually. Chirp can detect if it’s
day or night by measuring the amount of ambient light and will not make noise when it’s
1
“Chirp! – the Plant Watering Alarm.”
dark.2 Another similar product is the Thirsty Light. It is an intuitive digital plant moisture
sensor that blinks an LED to alert the user when it is time to water a potted plant. It is
designed to continuously monitor conditions, testing the moisture level once per second
like “chirp”. The device called Dry point can sense 5 different levels of dryness, causing
the light to blink faster as the soil gets dryer. Then increase the urgency of its call to
action, until it reaches the fifth level, “completely dry”, which puts the device in standby
mode to conserve electricity, emitting a double blink every 3 seconds. There is a lowbattery mode as well: a slow triple blink.3
These are very innovative solutions, however; they lack of aesthetic qualities and
convenience. Due to the technology development, people are allowed to pursue much
more convenience. Therefore, my proposed solutions will be improving aesthetic quality,
adding more practical and practical functions to it and thinking of environment at the
same time. This self-watering system and monitor will help grow healthier plants and
flowers while reducing one’s watering chores. The design of it will be very simple white
color and neat, reducing materials while still making the aesthetic improvements. Main
materials used in this product are soil, metal, recycled plastic bottle, and cardboard. In
order to make this product appeal to a larger population and make the world more
sustainable, using eco-friendly materials is the first step. The pottery should be lead-free
and non-toxic since it is made out of soil. This pottery is the work of human hands, not
vast, polluting factory. One of the best ways for a company to 'go green' is to let people,
not machines, take the responsibility for performing important tasks. In an effort to keep
our planet green, packing boxes are made up of recycled cardboards, and can be
2
3
Ibid.
"The DIY Automated Plant Watering System - Instructables."
recycled again. Despite the delicate beauty and practical function of the pottery, its
durability will be strong because poorly made products create a waste. Creating the top
quality product means not having to replace them after a few months or years of use. This
will also affect people’s budgets in good sense.
The monitor will alert you when the houseplants need to be watered. However,
not like a chirp, it will send the information via the base station to the specific website,
where houseplant owners’ online watering schedule is updated accordingly. They can
elect to receive watering alerts via email, push notification or text message. The monitor
is going to be attached inside of the pot itself near plants and will be linked with base
station and router. The smart watering system can communicate with the base station
using the Zibee specification. ZigBee enables broad-based deployment of wireless
networks with low-cost, low-power solutions. It provides the ability to run for years on
inexpensive batteries for a host of monitoring and control applications. It is used in smart
energy/smart grid, AMR (Automatic Meter Reading), lighting controls, building
automation systems, tank monitoring, HVAC control, medical devices and fleet
applications are just some of the many spaces where ZigBee technology is making
significant advancements.4 The water supply can be syphoned from recycled plastic
bottle by a thin hose. The smart water monitor will water the plant with fixed amount of
water and this will save water. Moreover, the participants can control the water amount
via their smart phone or by the computer. People may log in to the website and tell them
what type of plant they want to pair with the water monitor. Therefore, the database with
information about the watering needs of a variety of plants will match with their plant.
4
"ZigBee® Wireless Standard - Technology - Digi International."
When their plant needs water the base station tells the watering system to water it. Once
their plant has been adequately watered the system receives a message to stop.
Connecting one’s houseplants to the Internet is promoting our technology and
convenience at the same time because it automatically waters them when they are thirsty;
even the houseplant owners are away for holidays. Also, it is created in modular way and
simply attached to the pot and the soil, so if the pot breaks, the monitor can still be used
in another pot.
Plant is very beneficial to our livings. Those who spend significant time in spaces
with plants is benefited many important advantages because plants provide a natural
solution to cleaner indoor air. They help to improve humidity and reduce dust in today’s
energy efficient buildings. When plants transpire water vapor from their leaves, they pull
air down around their roots. This supplies their root microbes with oxygen. 5 The plants
convert toxic chemicals into a source of food and energy. Also plants contribute are
important to a healthy lifestyle. These days, Sick Building Syndrome is a serious and
expensive issue. Interior plants can positively affect employee’s health is an important
issue in today’s workspace. Real life office studies have proven the direct relationship
between clinical health complaints and plant installations.6 Many busy humans within
one well-sealed building can produce drowsy employees. According to the research done
by Dr. Roger S. Ulrich of Texas A&M University, Helen Russell, we are less stressed and
more productive around plants. Participants working in an environment with plants
present were 12 percent more productive and less stressed than those who worked in an
5
"Benefits of Green Plants | Green Plants for Green Buildings."
Mohammed Ali1 Bahobail, "Sick Building Syndromes and Their Effects on Homes
within Riyadh City," King Saud University Journal Architecture & Planning 25, (2013),
69-78
6
environment without plants. 7 Lastly, the advantage of plants to our living is carbon
dioxide reduction. During photosynthesis plants naturally extract carbon dioxide and
exchange it with fresh oxygen. According to the modest estimates of existing and
emerging data, it has been calculated that a minimum of 300g (10 oz) of carbon dioxide
can be eliminated from the enclosed environment for every square meter of leaf surface
in the area per year. Over a years time this amounts to a removal of 6 cubic feet of Co2
gas.8 In areas where there exists an abundance of natural light, this process is amplified,
affording even more absorption. Therefore, adding plants to the workplace and classroom
can improve student’s and worker’s health, attendance, satisfaction, and efficiency.
Ways in which my proposed solution may not be sustainable are that the water
monitor must link with base station, router, and internet every time. It can be little
troublesome when internet is not working due to some reasons. In addition, the batteries
used in my product are inexpensive but harmful to the environment.
7
8
Michelle1 Parker, "GREEN Future," Green Places no. 91 (March 2013): 26-29
Ibid.
Sketch
Bibliography
"Benefits of Green Plants | Green Plants for Green Buildings." Green Plants for
Green Buildings. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
<http://greenplantsforgreenbuildings.org/resources/benefits-of-green-plants/>.
"Chirp! - the Plant Watering Alarm." Chirp! - the Plant Watering Alarm. Accessed
November 10, 2014. http://wemakethings.net/chirp/.
"Self Watering Probes - for Vacation Watering." Rittenhouse. Accessed November 10,
2014. http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/Product.asp?PG=1016.
"The DIY Automated Plant Watering System - Instructables." Apartment Therapy.
Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-diyautomated-plant-watering-system-instructables-174803.
"ZigBee® Wireless Standard - Technology - Digi International." ZigBee® Wireless
Standard - Technology - Digi International. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.digi.com/technology/rf-articles/wireless-zigbee>.
Parker, Michelle1. "GREEN Future." Green Places no. 91 (March 2013): 26-29. Art
Source, EBSCOhost (accessed November 12, 2014).
Bahobail, Mohammed Ali1. "Sick Building Syndromes and Their Effects on Homes
within Riyadh City." King Saud University Journal Architecture & Planning 25,
no. 2 (July 2013): 69-78. Art Source, EBSCOhost (accessed November 12, 2014).
Reference Images